The Barbados Volleyball Association (BVA), like many other local federations, can never accumulate enough finances to cover its expenses, but giving up the fight is not an option.
So said acting president Kenmore Bynoe during the association’s Goddard Enterprises awards ceremony at the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA) headquarters on Friday night.
“There has been a dynamic change in sport in Barbados. Glyne [Clarke] can tell you when we first used to play, playing the sport was relatively cheap. You could give an association $500 and they could run an association for an entire year.
“[It] has changed to the extent that there is a whole cadre of officials involved, which is costly to the association. Therefore, when an association gets money, the international body has to continue to pump money into the local association but there is a certain criteria. It has to involve Under-15 programmes and Under-19 programmes.
“Back then, emphasis was on the senior men’s team. At that time, there wasn’t even any interest in a women’s team. Now we have about five different teams in various categories and all of them are going on various tours outside of the country. Volleyball comprises 15 to 16 persons so we are looking at $50 000 to $60 000 for every trip,” Bynoe said.
With that being said, the acting president expressed deep gratitude to the BOA, a faithful partner for more than 20 years, and Goddard Enterprises, which has been the BVA’s main sponsor for more than 15 years.
Bynoe added that parents also played a major part in the journey.
“Many of the successes we have enjoyed over the years have been coming along with their children and giving them that necessary support, and that is a critical component for success of any athlete,” he said.
BOA general manager Glyne Clarke, in his address, reflected on the words of Nelson Mandela: “Sport can create hope where once there was despair” – to encourage those present since he understood the year had been a challenging one for the BVA.
“Our men’s team [placed] third in the senior men’s CAZOVA Championships. Unfortunately, the women’s team did not qualify due to unfortunate circumstances. Due to the hurricanes, the Junior Championships scheduled for 2017 were postponed. We hope that our boys can defend their championships in Suriname in 2018 and the girls team can make a breakthrough,” Clarke said.
Financial controller of Hipac, Anne Marshall, said Goddard Enterprises was pleased to have been the Volleyball Association’s partner for more than 15 years because the company saw the BVA as being integral to empowering the youth. (RG)
